Stewart to play at Pan-American Games

CNS senior headed for festival in Guadalajara

Cicero  The site of Cicero-North Syracuse's Breanna Stewart on a United States national team has turned into a routine - but this latest honor has a twist.

From Oct. 21 to 25, Stewart will play on Team USA in the Pan American Games, an Olympic-style multiple sports competition in Guadalajara, Mexico. In doing so, she will become the first high-school age American player in this tournament.

Stewart, who is verbally committed to the University of Connecticut for the fall of 2012, has done far more than lead CNS to its first state Class AA girls basketball title, as she did earlier this year.

Each of the last three summers, Stewart has led U.S. national teams to gold medals in international competition. The latest, the Under-19 World Championships in Chile, took place in July, where Stewart had team-high totals in points, rebounds and blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team.

This marks Stewart's second appearance in Mexico, having gone there in 2009 with the Under-16 American side for another winning performance.

Training for Team USA, coached by former Colorado mentor Ceal Barry, begins Oct. 15 in Houston. Between that and her practices in Guadalajara prior to the start of competition, Stewart will be gone for approximately two weeks from school, unlike past events that took place during the summer.

And Stewart will be alongside 11 college players, all of them older than her. Once the Pan Am Games end, Stewart will return to CNS and rest for a few weeks before basketball practices for the Northstars get underway in mid-November.